All change

Thursday, 17 June 2010

Flash floods hit France

The death toll from flash floods in the south-eastern French department of Var has risen to 25. Authorities warned that more bodies could still be found as they picked through debris swept away by Tuesday's torrential rain above the Cote D'Azur.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux called it an "unprecedented catastrophe" for the region. Some 2,000 rescue workers have been drafted in to search for survivors through debris and flooded houses. A number of towns in the department of Var were affected, with hundreds of homes flooded.

Many of those who died were trapped in their cars as waters surged through streets in the worst hit area, around the town of Draguignan. Meteo France, the national weather service, warned of further storms on Thursday. They said up to 40cm (15.7in) of rain had fallen since Tuesday.

The floods are the worst in the region since 1827, according to meteorologists.

"We have never seen so much rain in the month of June," Patrick Galois of Meteo France told the AFP news agency. For the full story, read the BBC News story here